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Nguyen Tan Hoa, 55, embraces Marine Corps veteran Bill Taylor at Hoa's Place guesthouse on China Beach, south of Da Nang, Vietnam. Nguyen was 10-years-old when a Marine unit known as a Combined Action Platoon moved into his village, about 25 miles southwest of Da Nang. He soon began spending much of his time with the Americans and remembers it as the most profound experience of his life. "Whatever they got, I got," he recalls. "We shared the poncho together. We shared the...more »

Nguyen Tan Hoa, 55, embraces Marine Corps veteran Bill Taylor at Hoa's Place guesthouse on China Beach, south of Da Nang, Vietnam. Nguyen was 10-years-old when a Marine unit known as a Combined Action Platoon moved into his village, about 25 miles southwest of Da Nang. He soon began spending much of his time with the Americans and remembers it as the most profound experience of his life. "Whatever they got, I got," he recalls. "We shared the poncho together. We shared the cigarette together. We shared everything." Nguyen occasionally hosts groups of returning veterans for lunch at the guesthouse. Taylor, 65, of Dyer, Ind., served with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment from 1967 to 1968. This was his first time back in Vietnam since the war. "I've already lost it a couple of times," he said. "But it's been a refreshing feeling. I'm here with my brothers." April 27, 2012.« less